The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-02-27
A NIGHT OF NOISE In CAMP.
Reception of the News of Lees Surrender by
Men Wearied and Worn with the FRI
vatons Of Winter Campaign.


The speaker was an old volunteer officer who
served through the war in an Ohio regiment
He had seen great deal of war n all it's phases
and had been severely wounded. AT this
time he was one Of small company of friends
who were talking of those stirring events. Be-
ing pressed to tell the story of the night in ques
ton, be con .inued:
~ b..sneed to the old Fourth Corps. Army
OF the Cumberland When Uncle Billy Sher-
man laid Atlanta in ashes and pulled ont with
five corps for Savannah, he sent back the Fourth
and Twenty third ~ der old Pap Thomas, Won
remember, to take caro- of Hood who. by wide
detour to the north and west, bad turned mp on
the Tennessee river and was threatening Nash
VILE The repulse of Hood at Franklin, fol-
lowed two weeks later by the magnificent vic
tory of Thomas at Nashville. almost DESTROYED
the confederate army. From the day those de-
moralized remnants recrossed the river we never
again looked into the muZzles of their muskets.
Hoods shattered battalions were gathered up
and sent to the East. where they joined the
forces under Joe Johnston, who trying to
help Lee out by vainly striving to oppose the
northward sweep Of Sherman through the Caro-
linas.
Between Christmas and New Years-tnis
was in l864-Thomas abandoned the pursuit of
Hood. Those were tough times for the boys. /
tell you, marching in almost constant rain,
and bvouacking in the mud without shelter Of
any kind, with scarcely anything to eat. except
parched corn. For all that it was the happiest
holiday week Of our lives We spent two months
in lazily guarding against imaginary foes, the
railroad between Decatur, Ala, and Chattanoo-
pa. Then. in March, 1865, came hasty order
for the Fourth Corps to pack up ard go to
Knoxville. Packing a small job in those
days. Very few knapsacks were to he seen
among the veteran soldiers of '6l aud G2. Aside
from his musket, cartridge-he1 and haversack,
every man carried all his belongings In his
blanket, which he rolled up like big sausage
and threw his shoulder. We didn't stop at
Knoxville. but went on a hundred miles further,
nearly to Bulls Gap We were told that Lee
was being sorely pressed by Grant, and it was
considered possible that he might break for the
West by this route. We not likely to
have any violent duty to perform unless Lee
should coma that way; if no did would have
all that conld attend to. We had scarcely
$4,000 men. The Twenty-third corps had, some
weeks before, been sent around to North Caro-
lima, and was pounding away at Fort Fisher. |
have said all this that you may understand
how it happened that away up among
the mountains Of East Tennessee.
Late evening there came to us news that
threw the camps of the various brigades and di-
visions into the widest uproar. No language of
mine can convey more than faint conception
of the reality. Nobody ever heard any
thing like it before nor, probably, ever will
again. l suppose you want to know what it was
all about. 1t the middle of April
Dark4ess had settled down over the great
bivouac. The bngles had sounded the tattoo.
The grizzled veterans who had been squattirg
around the camp fires, talking the scenes of
the past and wondering when the war would be
over, had knocked the ashes from their pipes
End crawled within their little pup tents, or
their shelter made of boughs. All was still save
the measured tread of the sentinels they
paced to and fro upon their beats around the
sleeping army"
.'Suddanly there came rafting through the
clear night air a sound that aroused every SOL
der in an instant. We had often heard 1t be-
fore, and it always meant business. 1t was the
long roll at division headquarters. And such a
long roll as it was! The drummer handled his
sticks as if he pounding for his very life.
When soldier hears the long roll he never waits
for orders. 1t is an alarm that has but mean
ing His duty is to get his traps on and take
his place in line, and to be lively about IT, too
The drums at the headquarters of each brigade
took Up the sound, and the piercing blasts OF
bugles Joined in the chorus startled from their
sleep the soldiers kicked off their blankets. and
it wasn't o minute till the companies were
formed, every man with his accoutrements
buckled on. ard his musket at shoulder in
response the fall ia of the orderly sergeants.
Again drums and bugles sounded, the com
panies marched to the color-line and the regi
ments were ready for action 1t was noonless
night, and the darkness of the oak woods wae
but feebly dispel!ed here and there by the flicker
ing light of the smodering fires
s'Everybodv inquired of everybody else wha
the matter was. We had not supposed there was
any considerable force of the enemy within
hundred miles of US. But such alarms had al
ways betokened some great emergency, and the
soldiers thought of nothing but night attach
upon the camp. Every was strained to catch
the rattle of shots on the picketline. No sount
was heard the hustle of the assemblin.
troops and the voices of the officers as they CAV
the necessary commands 1t was one of thos
moments of anxious suspense that test the cour
age of the braveSt veteran.
IAN orderly from brigade headquarter
dashed up and handed paper to the colonel O
our regiment A bit of candle was found an
by it's spnt,ering light the colonel glanced a
the message Jumping abont forty feet in tn
arr, he gave one me- Wild ,;s piercing yel
vain to rival. We all thought for tn
moment that he had gone crazy. Whel
he came down he handed the paper to the &C
jutant, letting off another yell, and told him
read 1t TO the regiment. 1t was copy of telt
gram from Secretary Stanton, announcing th
surrender Of Lees army. The scene that 70
lowed no words can adequately describe. Th
colonel and al infant swung their hats an
danced around and fairly howled. Every Office
and soldier in the regiment. and in every oths
regiment, did the same thing. We had hear
shooting aud yelling before. and had done OF
full shsre Of ii on OCCASION, but never anythin
like that which greeted the reading of this di
patch. From ore end of the camp to the oths
the confusion and uproar We're prodigous. Me
laughed. and danced and Rugged one anothe
and rent the air wlIn every kind of noise poss
bic to the haman voice pitched in its hghe
key 1t was as If the inmates OF score of i
iiatic asylurls mad been turned loose in tho
Tennessee woods.
when the Yelling mad in some degree su
vided, from sheer vocal exhaustion, the soldie
hogan TO cast about for other means to make
noise. IL didn't matter what il was-the mo
tiseordant the better only that it helped
swell the awful din Meanwhile all the bra
bands were playlng-tnough nobody could Il
what tbs times were-the shrek OF flies aud IA
tie Of druras were heard on every hand and Il
buglers strained to make themselves heard UNI
II seemed as if they would blow their heads O.
Then the artillery opened Gun after g,
joined in the mighty chorus until every bate
in the corps was sending forth its thunders
echo among the mountains. Regiment after re
iment began to fire their muskets. The m,
took the ariri;res from their boxes poured